Good enough for Ducks but not high school

July 4, 2011

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Goaltender John Gibson waits to take the ice during a conditioning camp and scrimmage with the Anaheim Ducks prospects and new draftees on Thurs., June 30, 2011, at Anaheim ICE in Anaheim, Calif. JOHN W. ADKISSON, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Goaltender John Gibson warms up prior to the start of a conditioning camp and scrimmage with the Anaheim Ducks prospects and new draftees on Thurs., June 30, 2011, at Anaheim ICE in Anaheim, Calif. JOHN W. ADKISSON, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Goaltender John Gibson makes a save during a conditioning camp and scrimmage with the Anaheim Ducks prospects and new draftees on Thurs., June 30, 2011, at Anaheim ICE in Anaheim, Calif. ///ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: ducks.prospects.0701 – 6/30/11 – JOHN W. ADKISSON, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER - The Anaheim Ducks held a conditioning camp and scrimmage with all its prospects and new draftees on Thurs., June 30, 2011, at Anaheim ICE in Anaheim, Calif. The scrimmage will help open the camp for rookies and young prospects within the organization. JOHN W. ADKISSON, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Goaltender John Gibson waits to take the ice during a conditioning camp and scrimmage with the Anaheim Ducks prospects and new draftees on Thurs., June 30, 2011, at Anaheim ICE in Anaheim, Calif. JOHN W. ADKISSON, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

ANAHEIM – He was good enough to be drafted 39th overall by the Ducks, the highest pick this team has ever used on a goalie.

He was good enough to star on the U.S. under-18 national team, going 6-0 en route to winning a world championship in April.

He was good enough to accept an offer from the University of Michigan, a program that has been to the Frozen Four only 24 times.

John Gibson, however, wasn't good enough to make the team at Baldwin High School? He wasn't good enough to play prep hockey in Pittsburgh?

Are we missing something? Is Pittsburgh part of Canada now? Is Pennsylvania just one giant sheet of ice churning out hockey talent like Hershey, Pa., does chocolate bars?

"It was a lot of politics and stuff like that," Gibson says. "I'm someone who doesn't get bothered by things. I don't get too high or too low. I kind of let it go and use it for motivation."

OK, John, great. You're here now, taking part in the Ducks' annual conditioning camp. You're officially part of an NHL franchise. You are, in fact, going to be a Wolverine in the fall.

But, seriously, a high school team – just four years ago – decided you were more Chump Worsley than Gump Worsley?

"It was just one of those things, not a big deal," Gibson says. "One of my goals is to go out and prove people wrong and make the most of the opportunities I'm presented with."

That sounds fantastic, just terrific. Taking the high road is always the preferred path, even when wearing ice skates. But we have to know, John. A high school team pulled the goalie – pulled you – before its season even began?

You mentioned "politics." Can you be more specific?

"The coach's son," Gibson says finally, "was the other goalie."

On the bright side, that sort of situation doesn't happen often in the NHL, a league where winning is such a priority that former Penguins general manager Craig Patrick once fired his brother, Glenn.

Gibson, to be sure, is a late-arriver, his rally to the top half of the draft's second round even considered something of a disappointment. He – like many observers – thought the first round was at least an even-money prospect.

"It's just cool to say you got drafted in the first round," Gibson says. "But, at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter. I think the main goal for any kid who wants to get drafted is to get into a good organization where you can get to the NHL as soon as possible. I think that Anaheim presents a good opportunity for that."

The Ducks, who had traded down early in the draft, were delighted that Gibson was still there when their second pick came around. For a franchise light on promising goaltender stock, selecting Gibson was as obvious as this kid is, well, still a kid.

Of the 22 players in this camp, Gibson is the youngest. He's only 17, his next birthday coming later this month.

He is almost younger than the Ducks, who played their first game when Gibson was 3 months old.

And yet, he acts, talks, carries himself like he could be a Duck right now, like this could be training camp and he's taking over as the new No. 1. And at 6-foot-3, 206 pounds, he certainly fills out the uniform and fills up the crease like a true NHLer.

When he was selected in the draft, Gibson's reaction was notably understated, one Ducks representative wondering if the kid was really that unmoved.

"No, not at all," Gibson says now. "That's just my personality. I kind of let things go easily. I'm just a calm person."

Having spent much of the past two years away from his family fast-tracked Gibson's growth. As part of the U.S. national program, he lived with a host family in Michigan during the school year.

So, when he arrived here last week, Gibson was more open-minded than he was wide-eyed, which is worth mentioning since he never before had been west of Colorado.

"It helped my mature, and I learned how to handle myself on my own at a young age," Gibson says of being away from home. "You have to go through that eventually, and it definitely helped me to do it at a young age.

"I learned a lot about myself and the way I have to act and present myself to be a successful hockey player and a good person."

Sounds like most 17-year-olds, huh? Then again, when asked how he has been spending his time off here, Gibson said he and many of the other Ducks' prospects have been "hanging out at the mall."

They're young and talented and have their futures spread out before them like a Zamboni-ed rink – shiny, fresh and unmarked.

With Baldwin High now behind him, Gibson has been good enough so far. The question to be answered next is just how far.

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